Canada November new housing inflation edges up to 1.7 percent

Reuters Staff

2 Min Read

OTTAWA (Reuters) - New home prices in Canada rose 0.1 percent in November from October as expected, while year-on-year new housing inflation accelerated to 1.7 percent from 1.6 percent in the previous month, according to Statistics Canada data published on Thursday.

Realtors' signs are hung outside a newly sold property in a Vancouver neighbourhood where houses regularly sell for C$3-C$4 million ($2.7-3.6 million) September 9, 2014. REUTERS/Julie Gordon

The monthly increase was in line with the median forecast of economists in a Reuters survey.

The top contributor to the monthly rise was the Alberta oil town of Calgary, where new housing prices rose 0.3 percent despite a steep decline in the price of crude, which has put a damper on the provincial economy. New housing in Calgary is 6.5 percent more expensive than a year earlier.

The country’s largest metropolitan area, Toronto-Oshawa, rose 0.1 from October, and the year-on-year increase held at 2.5 percent.

The new housing price index excludes apartments and condominiums, which the government says are a particular cause for concern and which account for one-third of new housing.

New home prices fell 0.2 percent in Vancouver on the month and 0.6 percent on the year. Ottawa-Gatineau was down 0.1 percent on the month and 1.0 percent on the year.